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Mkelly · 14-01-2007, 15:16

Hi all,
I've been with Telewest for several years now (over 7) and prior to now we've only had to call them out twice before: Once immediately after the Pace box was first installed as it crashed losing all channels almost as soon as the installers had left the building (called out engineer who replaced STB with a new box and all was well) and the second 2 years ago when we lost all TV services and an engineer fixed the problem with a simple phone call (why Customer services couldn't have done whatever the engineer did I don't know) so all in all I have no real complaints about Telewest so far, other than the time it can take for them to get an engineer out to you (4 days on the second occasion I cited above).

So this new problem is something I hope I can fix without having to wait ages for the engineer (especially if it's something the guy will waltz in and fix in 2 seconds flat): Basically, the picture on most of the satellite channels is now intermitantly stuttering/shuddering. Everything is still watchable, but this judder is still bloody annoying.

Anyways, at my end I've tried everything I can thing of: Unplugged for a reboot, new batteries in remote, reconnected every cable, disconnected and switched off everything else around the box like DVD player and VCR, swapped cables over, cleaned the (rather crispy looking) smartcard, etc. With all my efforts there does occasionally seem to be an improvement for a minute or so then I'm back to the juddering pictures every 5 seconds or so again (the interval between stutters isn't consistent btw- but it does happen every few seconds generally).

My own best guess is that the STB or burnt looking smartcard is simply knackered or is on the way out: We have had the same box & card for about 7 seven years now and I've rarely had electronic gear last that long without something giving out on them...but the last time we had the engineer round and I commented on the box's age (5 years at that time) he intimated that replacing STB's was very much a last resort, ie: they'd rather take your existing box and patch that one up than issue a new one....I hope he was over-stating the case as 7 years & counting with the same kit is pushing it I think.

Lastly, we have called out for an engineer after the helpline proved to be uselsss (I think that may be being routed through Asia atm so the strong accent of the operator I spoke to was a definite problem for both of us) but the engineer wont be arriving till Thursday.

So anyways, if anyone has ideas on how I might fix this before then my thanks in advance. I will still be asking the engineer for a replacement box as I do think the current one is well past it's sell-by date, but for future reference knowing how to sort a problem like this could come in handy.

14-01-2007, 15:16	#1
Mkelly Inactive Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 4	Telewest stuttering picture problem Hi all, I've been with Telewest for several years now (over 7) and prior to now we've only had to call them out twice before: Once immediately after the Pace box was first installed as it crashed losing all channels almost as soon as the installers had left the building (called out engineer who replaced STB with a new box and all was well) and the second 2 years ago when we lost all TV services and an engineer fixed the problem with a simple phone call (why Customer services couldn't have done whatever the engineer did I don't know) so all in all I have no real complaints about Telewest so far, other than the time it can take for them to get an engineer out to you (4 days on the second occasion I cited above). So this new problem is something I hope I can fix without having to wait ages for the engineer (especially if it's something the guy will waltz in and fix in 2 seconds flat): Basically, the picture on most of the satellite channels is now intermitantly stuttering/shuddering. Everything is still watchable, but this judder is still bloody annoying. Anyways, at my end I've tried everything I can thing of: Unplugged for a reboot, new batteries in remote, reconnected every cable, disconnected and switched off everything else around the box like DVD player and VCR, swapped cables over, cleaned the (rather crispy looking) smartcard, etc. With all my efforts there does occasionally seem to be an improvement for a minute or so then I'm back to the juddering pictures every 5 seconds or so again (the interval between stutters isn't consistent btw- but it does happen every few seconds generally). My own best guess is that the STB or burnt looking smartcard is simply knackered or is on the way out: We have had the same box & card for about 7 seven years now and I've rarely had electronic gear last that long without something giving out on them...but the last time we had the engineer round and I commented on the box's age (5 years at that time) he intimated that replacing STB's was very much a last resort, ie: they'd rather take your existing box and patch that one up than issue a new one....I hope he was over-stating the case as 7 years & counting with the same kit is pushing it I think. Lastly, we have called out for an engineer after the helpline proved to be uselsss (I think that may be being routed through Asia atm so the strong accent of the operator I spoke to was a definite problem for both of us) but the engineer wont be arriving till Thursday. So anyways, if anyone has ideas on how I might fix this before then my thanks in advance. I will still be asking the engineer for a replacement box as I do think the current one is well past it's sell-by date, but for future reference knowing how to sort a problem like this could come in handy.